Beowulf: The New Translation

The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.

Frankenstein

Narrator Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

The Canterbury Tales [Audio Connoisseur]

If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the Late Middle Ages, Neville Coghill's famous translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its pages are to be found a broad range of society – high and low, male and female, rich and poor – who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury cathedral.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface - a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character - and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths.

Hamlet: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition

Hamlet, Shakespeare's most popular, and perhaps most puzzling play, follows the form of a "revenge tragedy", in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father’s murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Much of its fascination, however, lies in its uncertainties. This new full-cast recording - based on the most respected edition of Shakespeare's classic - expertly produced by the Folger Theatre, is perfect for students, teachers, and the everyday listener.

Brave New World

When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity.

Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 A.F. (After Ford, the deity). When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity.

The Stranger

Albert Camus' The Stranger is one of the most widely read novels in the world, with millions of copies sold. It stands as perhaps the greatest existentialist tale ever conceived, and is certainly one of the most important and influential books ever produced. Now, for the first time, this revered masterpiece is available as an unabridged audio production.

Beowulf

The oldest long poem in Old English, written about AD 1,000, Beowulf tells the story of a great warrior of southern Scandinavia, in both youth and maturity. The monster Grendel terrorizes the Scyldings of Hrothgar's Danish Kingdom until Beowulf defeats him. As a result, he has to face her enraged mother. Beowulf dies after a battle against a fierce dragon.

1984: New Classic Edition

George Orwell depicts a gray, totalitarian world dominated by Big Brother and its vast network of agents, including the Thought Police - a world in which news is manufactured according to the authorities' will and people live tepid lives by rote. Winston Smith, a hero with no heroic qualities, longs only for truth and decency. But living in a social system in which privacy does not exist and where those with unorthodox ideas are brainwashed or put to death, he knows there is no hope for him.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

It's 1939, in New York City. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat: smuggling himself out of Hitler's Prague. He's looking to make big money, fast, so that he can bring his family to freedom. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a partner in creating the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book. Inspired by their own fantasies, fears, and dreams, they create the Escapist.

Lord of the Flies

Marooned on a tropical island, alone in a world of uncharted possibilities, and devoid of adult supervision or rules, a group of British boys begins to forge a society with its own unique rules and rituals.

The Inferno of Dante

This critically acclaimed translation was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry and the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award given by the Academy of American Poets. Well versed, rapid, and various in style, the Inferno is narrated by Pinsky and three other leading poets: Seamus Heaney, Frank Bidart, and Louise Glück.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....

The Things They Carried

Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner-Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.

Dracula [Audible Edition]

The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.

The Life and Times of Chaucer

In this exquisite biography, John Gardner brings to life Geoffrey Chaucer, illuminating his writings and their inspiration like never before. Through exhaustive research and expert storytelling, Gardner takes readers through Chaucer’s varied career - from writing The Canterbury Tales to performing diplomatic work at the Parliament - and creates a fully realized portrait of an author whose work would remake the English language forever. Written with passion and insight, this a must-listen for those interested in Chaucer and the medieval time period.

Othello

This widely studied play is one of the "best sellers" of the Shakespeare canon. This production is the sixth Shakespeare play in the series undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press.

Publisher's Summary

World renowned critic John Gardner has received prestigious awards for his wide range of literary achievements, including short stories, novels, and essays. When he turns his talents to retelling "Beowulf", the earliest epic in British literature, the result is a work that combines extensive knowledge with a marvelous strain of pure fun.

In Gardner's version of the epic, instead of lauding the helmeted hero, Beowulf, the spotlight shines on Grendel, a beast whose grotesque body and blood thirst condemn him to the life of an outlaw. Grendel is a horrible monster who greedily gobbles up warriors in the Danish mead hall guarded by Beowulf. But within Grendel lurks a soul that delights in dark humor, dramatic pirouettes, and pranks. Both young adult and adult listeners will revel in this powerful complement to a classic tale.

George Guidall's narration captures a surreal landscape that shimmers on the other side of the original epic's heroic mirror. What we see is that there's a little bit of Grendel living is each of us.

What the Critics Say

"George Guidall masterfully impersonates the grumbling momma's boy with deliciously sly humor and mock-tragic grandeur. Without ever striking a false note, he maintains throughout such a perfect balance of crudity and poetry that we laugh, cringe and weep all at once." (AudioFile)

This is a clever but long-winded retelling of Beowulf from the monster's point of view. Grendel is brilliantly realized as a petulant child, a beast who fancies himself an intellectual, sometimes tries to overcome his brutish nature but inevitably succumbs to the temptation to act like a monster and then blames it on the universe. "See what you made me do?" Grendel seems to be saying throughout the book. The dialog is often clever, but I had the same problem I have with a lot of literary fiction: Gardner's descriptive prose sometimes becomes tedious, especially the interminable and largely irrelevant-to-the-story speeches from the dragon and the priest. I'd really only recommend it if you're a fan of the original Beowulf tale; otherwise it's just a story about a monster who occasionally goes on killing sprees between monologues and bouts of self-pity.

I love this book. I've read it several times in print. I never would have listened to it for fear that the narrator wouldn't be able to measure up to Grendel's "voice" my imagination -- the way you might hesitate to see the film version of a favorite novel -- but in the end I wound up buying the audio version so that my son could listen to it as we commuted. And in the end, I loved it so much that here I am, writing a review.

This novel is ultimately cognitive as well as sensory and emotional, and it is full of subtleties, but don't expect any restrained, intellectualized treatment of Grendel's thoughts and words here. George Guidall doesn't hold back; he goes for it in a way that feels raw and real. It is a true talent to manage so much intense emotion -- this narrator only sounds histrionic when Grendel does.

I often find "monsters" at least as human as the rest of us, and at least as able to show us the complexities and contradictions of the human state. If monsters appeal to you, don't miss this audiobook. If on the other hand you usually prefer human heroes and villains, but find yourself in the mood for something unusual, moving, comical, and tragic, consider this.

This is a retelling of the Beowulf epic from Grendel's point of view. Grendel, as represented by Gardner, is an interesting character -- sometimes petulant and childish, sometimes witty and droll, sometimes a raging monster, sometimes an earnest seeker of enlightenment. There are parts that become a bit tedious (Grendel whines A LOT), but it's certainly a new way to look at the ancient tale, and Gardner, who was a noted literary author, does not even try to mimic the style of the original. The narration by George Guidall was good; I especially liked the dragon.

George Guidall's interpretation of Grendel provides superb narration of the darker side (the monster's point of view) of the classic epic Beowulf. To be enjoyed by age appropriate younger readers (Grade 8 and up) as well as adults!

Anyone who made it through Beowulf can appreciate another point of view. As we have learned from books like "Wicked", there is always another side of the story besides the hero's. Narration was ok. I didn't like the voice the narrator used for Grendel's thinking. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Grendel's psychosis and torment in this book. It was like a more current version of the MacBeth scene with the skull, except in this case it lasted for the whole book. As the reader you will take an exceptionally twisted trip in Grendel's mind. Enjoy!

This book made me contemplate my own morality, and what it means to be human. As the tale progressed I truly identified with the monster Grendel.

It was extremely well written, and contains many small references to the ancient tale of Beowulf beyond the obvious characters and locations. The author seems to have had a working knowledge of the actual ancient culture depicted in the original tale.

The narration was impeccable. The author gave the story a gruff tone which resonated well with the nature of the tale.

Wow. If only every audio book experience could be so enthralling. I had read Grendel twice before trying it this way, and now that it's done, I just might start over--it's really that good. A performance that truly draws out the genius of the original work. Bravo!

as you can see I've been on a bit of a Beowulf stint and always enjoyed this one from way back. Gardner is a fine writer who worked a lot with mythic/classic stories and elements and there is more depth regarding his structure and philosophical ponderings than I certainly realized at first. I like much of what he attempted here, though I have not yet sorted it all out regarding the zodiacal significance and all his philosophical elements and I plan to keep studying it.

I do think that from a "purist" angle some of the language is anachronistically modern and takes you out of the story and time period, but on the other hand he is experimenting with an existentialist monster so I have to let it go.

there is some very nice writing and imagery and I would like to see the film made of this to see what they did.

I don't mind Guidall though I do try to avoid him & I am a little prejudiced toward his readings partially due to running across him so often with Recorded Books years ago; it is hard to not pick up on verbal quirks thru saturated exposure. Though this is before he got too heavily into some irritating habits. When he gets too heavily into the whispery, drawn out, overly dramatic ending to every sentence I cringe; I can not tolerate his Frankenstein reading. Rudnicki has some similar quirks.